Musings, dreams, thoughtcrimes.

It’s all about freedom, baby

The problem of the burka is not a religious problem. This is an issue of a woman’s freedom and dignity. This is not a religious symbol. It is a sign of subservience; it is a sign of lowering. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France.

I suppose the logic goes something like this: The burqa is demeaning; it offends my values. So the woman who chooses to wear it, whether out of social pressure or personal choice (*), is not truly free. Thus, I must make them free by taking away this choice from them.

Come to think of it, this kind of argument is a remarkable tool. Sarkozy did not invent it — precisely the same justification is used all the time to critique everything that the vanguards of public morality consider degrading: from prostitution to pornography, taking drugs to working for low wages. But he — like other petty dictators of this world — sees the real power of this infantilizing logic, because it allows him to restrict individual freedom by invoking supposedly liberal values. That’s masterful. Of course, most people do not understand or care about the fundamental difference between the moral and the legal, the personal and the political, social disapproval and actualcoercion; thus this charade continues.

*I am discounting from this discussion any women who are actually coerced (by threats of violence or similar means) to wear the burqa; obviously we need to prevent this from happening, but there are already laws to deal with such situations.

What do you think of security reasons that are sometimes advanced in favor of banning the burqa? The point made there is that it would be difficult to identify or photograph a criminal if he/she is wearing a burqa.

Ashutosh, I have rarely heard this argument; and in any case this would necessitate banning not just the burqa but any clothing that makes it difficult to identify or photograph a criminal. As far as I know France has no laws banning a capped gown or a mask.

But yes, in a hypothetical case where this is a serious problem (e.g. some very specific high security areas) I can live with with regulations on certain types of clothing, provided they are objective and uniform with respect to this aim.

[…] great I say. The French are geniuses. They have already outlawed pesky things like free speech, unsexy clothes and hard work. Now all those domestic arguments must stay within strict rules laid down by the […]